Maybe They Could
by hawkeyeforever
Summary: It wasn't love, was it? This thing that they have. It couldn't possibly be love, because that wouldn't be right. Except for the fact that it was. Or, in which Hermione and Harry are in love and are too afraid to tell each other. Harry/Hermione.


Maybe They Could

A/N: I am a huge supporter of Harry/Hermione, along with Harry/Ginny. I think the two of them would have been perfect for each other, thus this little story was born. Hope you like it!

Harry.

Such a simple word isn't it? Harry? Hardly an uncommon name.

Yet that word held more meaning to her than any other word in the world, than any of the words she had read in any book.

For years she searched and scoured all of the books she could get her hands on, looking for some reasonable, some plausible explanation of that strange, confusing, wonderful, terrifying, exhilarating feeling in her chest she got when he was near her. It was as if her heart started to run, to dance, to sing, every time she saw him. It pounded and raced and sometimes she felt that it would burst out of her chest it was so strong and undeniable.

But that was what she did.

She denied it.

For a very long time, she ran. She ran away from that strange and beautiful feeling. She told herself it was because she could not explain it, that she didn't understand it. And this was true; she didn't know what to call it. Clearly it was more than just a friendly feeling. She never felt like that when any of her other friends were around. But it couldn't be love, could it?

Could it?

She could hardly be in love with that insufferable, reckless, goofy boy, could she?

Could she?

But that wasn't the real reason she ran. She ran because it scared her. The sheer intensity of it terrified her. And it grew stronger and faster than anything she had ever experienced in her entire life.

She had always found books to be reliable. They could hardly lie to her, could hardly make fun of her. They were a solid and comforting presence, and they never led her wrong.

Except for when they did.

No matter what she read, in no book would it clearly state that what she was feeling was normal. It didn't say anything about how she felt. She never saw a definition of that strong and fluttering feeling. For the first time in her life, she began to doubt the books she had so lovingly read for so many years. There was no solid theory, no logical solution as to what to do.

There was something though.

Something tiny, merely a word. Four small letters that held such powerful meaning.

Love.

In all of the love stories she had read it made clear that love was strong and wonderful and fierce and unbreakable. It would certainly explain the flutter of her heart in her chest every time she heard him say her name.

But she refused to give in. She couldn't, wouldn't.

Right?

As time passed, it became harder to ignore. It was rather hard to hide her thoughts and feelings from someone she saw every day after all. Very hard. Sometimes she was sure that he knew, or at least suspected. The looks he gave her made it clear that whatever it is that he saw in her puzzled him in some way.

She wasn't sure when it started. Whether it was in their first year when he saved her life from that troll, or in second year when he ranted on and on about Malfoy calling her that terrible, awful, foul, disgusting name. Or maybe it was in third year, when they had run hand in hand through the Forbidden Forest trying to stay away from Professor Lupin in his monthly phase.

She accepted it eventually. She was stubborn, yes, but not foolish.

Never foolish.

After she reluctantly accepted that that exhilarating and exhausting feeling wouldn't ever really go away, she came to terms with it, and faced reality.

One couldn't just simply stop feeling, if they were ever inclined to do so.

Nope, because this was reality.

And reality is harsh, unforgiving, and painful in some ways, but in others it can be blessed and true.

So she accepted it. Reluctantly.

She accepted that she, Hermione Jean Granger, was in love with one Harry James Potter.

She wanted to tell him.

Really!

She did!

But you just can't waltz up to your best friend and say, "Hey, just so you know, I'm head over heels in love with you, and have been for quite some time now."

No, that would be illogical, and extremely stupid.

And stupid is most definitely not a word to describe the brightest witch of her age, thank you very much.

Besides, she couldn't ruin her friendship with Harry. She couldn't stand to not be around him, simply because he didn't see her the same way.

Having him in some way, even platonic, was better than never being able to look in those beautiful and expressive emerald green eyes of his, and not see the pity, and the guilt of leaving her out to dry.

For he could never love her back.

At least, not in the same way.

She was his friend, and yes he cared for, obviously, but nothing more.

She was his friend. His smart, brilliant, awkward, bookworm of a best friend, and nothing more.

So she would simply be content with being his friend, and she hid her bitterness and her jealousy when she saw him with Ginny. She had to; otherwise she just couldn't handle it.

She gave him looks though, when she was sure he wasn't looking. The ones that clearly screamed the you're-my-soulmate-but-I-can't-tell-you-because-I'm-too-afraid-to-lose-you kind of love.

She would sit by and watch as the boy she loved fought and tried and cried, never telling him what her heart urged her to tell him. She just couldn't see a way to make it work, to make it right.

What she didn't see however, that was a different matter entirely.

For what she didn't see, that was just as, if not more, important.

Because, you see, there was something else, something she wouldn't let herself think about, dream about.

What she didn't see were the looks. The looks that Harry sent her way when he was positive that she wasn't watching.

Those looks of intense longing, the looks of the you're-my-soulmate-but-I-can't-tell-you-because-I'm-too-afraid-to-lose-you kind of love.

But he couldn't love her back, could he?

Could he?

A/N: and so there is my first Harry/Hermione story. I hope you all liked. I plan on writing more about these two, seeing as they are one of my favorite pairings. Reviews are appreciated.

~hawkeyeforever


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